Package for shipping shell-fish, &amp;c.



No. 680,566. A Patanted Aug. l3, l90l. F. W. COLLINS.

PACKAGE FOR SHIPPING SHE.| .L FISH; 81.0.

(Application filed Dec. 6, 1900.

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UNrrn STATES PATENT Fries.

FRANK W. COLLINS, OF ROCKLAND, MAINE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 680,566, dated August13, 1901-.

Application filed December 5, 1900. Serial No. 38,719- (No model.)

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, FRANK W. COLLINS, a citizen of the United States ofAmerica, and a resident of Rockland, Knox county, State of Maine, haveinvented certain new and useful Improvements in Packages for ShippingShell- Fish, 850., of which the following is a specification.

Myinvention relates to a package or vessel for shipping lobsters andother shellfish which require to be iced during transit, and itparticularly relates to an improvement in the device patented to me inLetters Patent No. 653,567, dated July 10, 1900. In the patented deviceI found by experience that in the case of long shipmentst'or instance,where lobsters were sent from Maine to St. Louis during hot weather-aconsiderable portion of them had died for the lack of refrigeration inthe center of the mass, and I have overcome this objection to my formershipping-package by means of the present invention, which consists inapplying to said package a cylinder which extends from the diaphragm tothe bottom, forming a continuation of the upper iced chamber, so thatthe melted ice and cold air from the upper iced chamber run down aroundthe sides of the vessel and keep the outer lobsters cool and moist, andat the same time the ice which occupies the cylindrical chamber keepsthe lobsters in the center cold and prevents them from dying. Thelobsters are thus contained in a cylindrical chamber with a cold surfacein the center and a cold chamber on top, and experience has shown thatwith this form of package they can be sent a long distance without dyingin any considerable numbers, a very large proportion of them being keptalive several days in the hottest weather.

I illustrate my invention by means of the accompanying drawings, inwhich Figure 1 is a central vertical section through the packageprovided with my present improvement, and Fig. 2 is a horizontal sectionon the line a; x of Fig. 1.

A represents a vessel which is formed tapering toward the bottom andflaring toward the top, with a cover B fastened on by suitable fasteningmeans, as the bolts and nuts a. About a third of the way down, as hereshown, is a diaphragm O, fitting against the sides of the vessel andhaving its outer edges recessed to allow the drip and cold air to flowdown along the walls of the vessel. Extending from the diaphragm to thebottom F of the vessel is a cylinder D, forming a cylindrical chamber,which forms a continuation of the iced chamber above the diaphragm. ThecylinderD is preferably made from sheet metal and is provided at itslower endwith a flange d, which fits an annular groove in the bottom F;but it is also provided at a point near its top, immediately below thediaphragm C, with a beadd, which serves to assist in holding thediaphragm C in place. As the diaphragm and the bottom of the vessel areboth constructed of a very light and thin material, the weight in thecenter of the diaphragm would sag the same downward, but the bead uponthe cylinder prevents this, and also if the cylinder were constructedwithout the flange upon its lower edge the cylinder would be forcedthrough the bottom. For that reason I provide an annular groove in thebottom and the flange upon the cylinder. A drip-opening f is formed inthe bottom F within the cylinder-chamber D.

In putting this package together the cylinder D is placed on the bottom,its flange fitting in the corresponding recesses. The lobsters are thenpacked in the annular space, the diaphragm is inserted, and the ice isplaced in the upper chamber and the cylinder.

It will be seen that in this package the lobsters may be easily re-icedwhen in transit without disturbing them.

I claim The herein-described package for shipping shell-fish, consistingof a downwardly-tapering vessel provided with an annular groove in itsbottom, a cover therefor, a horizontal diaphragm having a centralopening and other openings adjacent to its outer edges, and acylindrical chamber provided with a bead near its top and a flange atthe bottom, said flange being adapted to fit in the annular groove ofthe bottom of the vessel and the Signed at Portland this 31st day ofNovember, 1900.

FRANK W. COLLINS.

Witnesses:

S. W. BATES, R. U. COLLINS.

